Classic Arabian Horse

Judith Forbis offers a wealth of information on horses of Egyptian breeding, namely those bred by the RAS or EAO and supposedly "blue list". I bought the book due to my love of Arabians and the fact that many of my horses have a hefty dose of Egyptian blood. However, these horses, fine as they are, are no better than Polish, Crabbett/Kellogg (English), Spanish, French, Brazilian or any other lines of Arabians. They all go back to desertbreds from the same part of the world. Racial prejudice is alive and well in the Arabian horse world.

This book presents the basics of the historical background of the modern arabian horse. It is slanted a bit towards the Egyptian Arabian but that is ok, as it does mention other sources. It has some excellent photos and is a stepping stone to hte next Forbis book, Authentic Arabian Bloodstock.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I own Egyptian Arabians which are very closely realted to many of the ones mentioned in this book. However, even if I didn't, the book contains many historical facts, is written in a wonderful, easy-to-read style, and is interesting. This book comes very close to the ultimate book of Arabian history. I did not find all the Arabian lines researched in this book (which was not its sole purpose), and that is the only thing keeping it from "the best" in my library. Great book! I loved every moment.

This book contains a rich background on the imports brought to America by Ansata Arabians. Wonderful pictures of desert-bred horses and their progeny in the United States. Very informative, I enjoyed reading it, and especially studying the pictures and pedigrees of past generations of Arabians.

I wanted to know about the history of the Arabian horse and found this book not only to be easy reading but also giving me the information that I was looking for. The book is well documented and gave me a good idea of what so called desert Arabians look like and were they came from. I really like to recommend this book to anyone that is interested in some background information of the Arabian horse.